Montco school bus driver charged in death of pedestrian in Lower Pottsgrove

Donna Engler, the bus driver charged with involuntary manslaughter after she struck and killed a pedestrian with her bus in Lower Pottsgrove on Sept. 9, 2013. (Photo courtesy the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office)

NORRISTOWN – A New Hanover woman who unintentionally struck and killed an elderly pedestrian with the school bus she was driving in Lower Pottgrove faces charges because she should have observed the pedestrian in the roadway, authorities alleged.

Donna M. Engler, 64, of the 600 block of Shultz Road, a 16-year veteran of driving school buses, was arraigned Friday before District Court Judge Edward Kropp Sr. on charges of involuntary manslaughter and careless driving in connection with the 7:08 a.m. Sept. 9 pedestrian fatality at Mervine and North Charlotte streets in Lower Pottsgrove.

Shirley Wilhelm, 78, of Pottstown, a pedestrian crossing Mervine Street, was struck and killed as Engler made a turn from North Charlotte Street, at the intersection. An autopsy determined Wilhelm died of multiple injuries.

“Based upon the crash reconstruction that was done we have determined that she should have been able to see, because there were no obstructions, the 78-year-old victim when she was crossing the road,” Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele explained. “While unintentional, it amounts to careless, reckless and gross negligence, which are the factors that constitute the crime of involuntary manslaughter.”

Authorities said Wilhelm had the right of way at the intersection.

Steele said Wilhelm’s family is “grief-stricken over this tragedy.”

“Their mother was an avid walker. She was simply out for her morning walk, which she did frequently…and her life was taken from her,” Steele said.

Involuntary manslaughter is graded as a misdemeanor of the first-degree, and is punishable of a maximum of 2 ½ to 5 years in prison upon conviction.

Engler was released on $25,000 own recognizance bail and immediately waived her preliminary hearing in the case, essentially sending her case directly to county court to be scheduled for trial.

Steele said Engler has been cooperative with authorities. As a condition of bail, Engler is prohibited from driving a school bus.

Township police responded to the area for a report of a pedestrian struck shortly after 7 a.m. and found Wilhelm, dressed in a blue sweatshirt, white pants and white sneakers, lying in the eastbound lane of Mervine Street at the intersection of North Charlotte Street, also known as Route 663, according to court papers. Wilhelm died at the scene and police were informed that the striking vehicle, a school bus displaying the number 9, left the scene without stopping, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Robert Turner and Lower Pottsgrove Police Officer Scott Weidenhammer.

Another school bus driver in the area who was traveling south on North Charlotte Street told authorities he witnessed the incident, as did students on his bus, according to court papers. The intersection, court papers indicate, is controlled by a traffic signal which was in proper working order on the day of the fatal incident.

The witness reported he observed Wilhelm walking westbound on Mervine Street waiting to cross Mervine Street southbound. At the same time, the witness observed a school bus, displaying a number 9, stopped at a red traffic signal northbound on North Charlotte Street at Mervine Street, waiting to turn right onto Mervine Street.

“When the traffic light turned green he observed the female pedestrian begin to walk across the roadway southbound and the bus start to make its turn. He observed the left front of the bus make contact with the pedestrian knocking her to the ground and then run over her,” Turner and Weidenhammer alleged in the arrest affidavit.

A student on the second bus told investigators “he observed the pedestrian in the middle of the roadway in a crouched position as if she was picking something up when she was struck by the turning school bus” and observed the bus drive off after the crash, according to court documents.

The investigation subsequently determined the left front bumper area of Engler’s bus, while turning, struck Wilhelm, causing her to fall to the ground, at which time the left front tire ran over Wilhelm, according to court papers. The bus continued eastbound, causing the left rear wheels of the bus to run over Wilhelm as she was lying on the roadway, investigators alleged.

Investigators immediately launched an intensive search for the bus.

But at 9:09 a.m. Engler, who drove a bus for Metz Bus Company, contacted township police from her New Hanover home and reported that she may have been the driver of the bus involved in the crash. Investigators went to Engler’s home, where the bus was parked, and a visual inspection revealed evidence of the crash.

The 2009 Bluebird school bus was impounded during the investigation and owners of Metz Bus Company cooperated with authorities, court papers indicate. The investigation determined there were no mechanical problems that contributed to the crash.

During questioning, Engler told authorities she had been driving a school bus for 16 years and that on the morning of the crash she had five students on the bus, all headed to Pope John Paul High School, which is in Upper Providence.

Engler allegedly stated, “While I was making the turn I felt a bump under my left front tire. I think it was my front tire. After I made the turn I looked in my left side view mirror and I saw a white bag. I continued on and picked up my last student at Mervine and Washington,” according to the criminal complaint.

Engler claimed that prior to making the turn she never saw anyone walking along Charlotte Street or Mervine Street.

“Engler stated she was wearing sunglasses and had the sun visor down but the sun was very blinding,” Turner and Weidenhammer wrote in the criminal complaint.

Court papers indicate investigators took the striking bus to the intersection on Sept. 11 to assist with a reconstruction of the crash. Investigators determined the area in which Wilhelm was standing prior to crossing the intersection was visible from the operator area of the bus while it was stopped on North Charlotte Street, prior to making the right hand turn.